“Leaving the frontal surface blank, empty of any image, implied questioning the ancestral habit of only experiencing [paintings] head-on and uncovering the possibility of a ‘lateral’ and ‘oblique’ mode of looking,” Paternosto explained. He applied color only to the sides of the canvas to encourage viewers to reorient their gaze. The Hidden Order functions as an investigation of painting’s lateral edges while inviting viewers to surround the work, emphasizing its object-like quality.
Gallery label from Sur moderno: Journeys of Abstraction—The Patricia Phelps de Cisneros Gift, October 21, 2019–March 14, 2020